Mystic Destiny
by chinaroses102
Summary: Klein, a top raven, is happy with his life. Everything is normal, reasonable, until a mysterious girl appears and turns his life upside-down.
1. Chapter One Meetings

A note from Selskia  
  
This Fanfic was based on an RP that me and my friend, Klein, took part in. It starts out really funny and lighthearted, almost no storyline, but later on, it gets more dramatic, romantic, and more serious. Be forewarned, this has magic in it. And Klein doesn't really write much, he's just my technical editor/helper  
  
Mystic Destiny Chapter One-Meetings  
  
BOOM!  
  
The last attacking MT burst into thousands of flaming pieces, the remainder of the attack force diminished. The blood-red AC put down its gun arm and boosted back towards the building it was defending.  
  
Mission Status: Complete Reward: 50,000 credits  
  
Inside the AC, Klein shook his head. This mission was too easy and waaay overpaid.  
  
"Vengeance, damage report please"  
  
A diagram appeared overhead, showing the AC.  
  
All systems normal  
  
"Good."  
  
He boosted up and away from the small city, and towards the wide expanse of desert that the area was famous for. He had never spent much time on Earth, but nothing could match the glory of a desert sunset. He looked up at a hawk flying overhead, watching him carefully. The brown hawk let out a screech, and in the background, he could hear the sound of metal hitting metal. Wait a second, metal hitting metal?  
  
Klein turned around, only to discover a girl sitting idly in the back of his cockpit, with one of the many wrenches he had floating in midair, banging against the delicate machinery of his AC. Floating!?!?  
  
To say the least, Klein was shocked. He paused for a second, searching for something to say, and then asked quite angrily.  
  
"Who are you and what do you want from me?!"  
  
Of course, most of the time, when someone was in such a spot, they had been trying to kill him. But nobody ever sent young teenage girls with long silver hair for assassination attempts.  
  
The girl looked up at him, a golden horn protruding from the soft, silvery curls on her forehead. She deftly caught the floating wrench and stood, hooves clanking against the steel flooring. No, the mysterious girl didn't pull out a gun and shoot him, nor did she shoot some weird beam of energy at him, and she didn't blow up his AC either, as Klein expected. No, she simply ran over to him and tried to kiss him on the cheek.  
  
He ducked away, backing into the safety of a corner.  
  
"Who the heck are you!?!?"  
  
The girl simply giggled and disappeared, reappearing outside in full view of the screen. She smiled and pointed a finger at his AC and snapped her fingers beside her head with the other hand.  
  
Caution: System overheating Temperature: 312 degrees and rising  
  
"What!?!?"  
  
Klein ran back to the console and franticly pushed several buttons, causing an overhead to appear. On it, the entire diagram of the Vengeance was red. Overheating. Klein looked back down at the girl far below. She was laughing. What did she do to his AC!?!?  
  
A red light flashed beside him, beeping for attention. He pressed it, watching as the engine temperature meter went higher...and higher...and higher...  
  
At the same time, even with the insulation, the cockpit was getting warm. Too warm. Within seconds, he was sweating.  
  
Caution: Engine temperature reaching melting point  
  
He looked back down at the girl again. She was still laughing. Suddenly, she disappeared again and reappeared floating beside the Plexiglas window in front of him. Using her finger, she wrote some words on the now foggy screen.  
  
Isn't it hot in there?  
  
Klein looked back down at the console, punching more buttons, trying to activate the cooling systems. Obviously, it wasn't working. The meter was still rising, not even pausing for his efforts. He banged his fist against the Plexiglas, right over the girl.  
  
"Well, of course it is, idiot. STOP THIS AT ONCE!"  
  
Outside, the girl smiled, pointed a finger at the AC, and snapped her fingers again. Immediately, the temperature began to drop back to normal.  
  
"Vengeance, damage report?"  
  
Engine failure Generator failure Circuitry failure All other systems not detected  
  
Great. Just great. His AC was crippled, pretty much dead. And this little girl, years younger than he was, with astonishing powers was the cause. The girl popped back in, smiling.  
  
"By the way, my name's Selskia."  
  
He turned around, slipped his pistol out of his jacket, and pointed it at the girl's head, finger steady on the trigger.  
  
"Selskia, do you have any idea what you just did? You ruined my AC, melted the engines, and tried to kiss me. What do you have to say about that?"  
  
She simply smiled again.  
  
"Don't make me shoot..."  
  
She simply sat smiling.  
  
He hesitated and then pulled the trigger. Even he didn't enjoy taking a woman's life. But there was no crack of gunshot. Instead, a single bubble shot out of his pistol, Selskia giggling all the while.  
  
"WHAT!?!?"  
  
He fired again. More bubbles. Selskia was still laughing. Then, all of a sudden, she stopped and spoke.  
  
"Guns aren't very nice..."  
  
She snapped her fingers again, pointing at the gun. Immediately, it started to melt, smoking in his hand. He yelped, dropping the half pistol- shaped blob of molten plastic and steel, clutching at his burnt hand. He recovered within seconds, no sign of any pain and no mark on his hand. He clenched his fists, and let them go again. Knowing the girl, she would probably do something even worse to him if he tried to do anything. Instead, he sat back down in his chair, head in his hands, muttering. "This is just one of those days..."  
  
End Part I  
  
The horned girl sat down in the back of his cockpit, fiddling with some wrenches, as well as a few random circuit boards. Klein, however, was pacing the small cockpit of the AC, mumbling to himself.  
  
"The engines are gone...The generators too...All because one little girl found me...AND WHY THE HELL DOES SHE HAVE MAGIC!?!? Everyone knows it doesn't exist...Now I'm finished, might as well leave...But I can't just leave my AC here..."  
  
Selskia looked up at that moment, eyes innocent as always. She smiled sweetly and asked a simple question.  
  
"Do you want to play?"  
  
Klein looked at the girl. How could she ask such a question at a time like this? He answered quite angrily, with a very sarcastic smirk on his face.  
  
"Well, look. I'm stranded here with my useless AC. I was just fine until YOU came a long. Fat lot of help you did. And now you ask if I want to PLAY?!"  
  
The girl looked quite stunned for a second, and then tears started to well up in her eyes. She stood up now with anger lacing every word she said.  
  
"You hate me, don't you? No one likes me. No one cares. Go away then. Leave. LEAVE!"  
  
She looked around at the AC around her and snapped a finger.  
  
At that moment, Klein, knowing the disastrous effects that a simple snap could have, ejected. As he was flying out in the air, he realized what a stupid mistake he had made, leaving his AC alone with the girl. Landing on a nearby cliff, he could still see his AC quite clearly. It looked...Smeared together, was the best way to describe it. It took him a second before he realized what was happening.  
  
"NOOOOOO!!!!! My AC!!!!! Vengeance!!!!!"  
  
He ran back towards the smoldering and melting AC. He was quite a bit away from it, so by the time he reached it, the remains of the once proud AC was a twisted hunk of steel. Sitting near its base, was Selskia.  
  
"You stupid @#$%&!"  
  
He was yelling by now, of course. Who wouldn't, with their AC reduced to a blob in the matter of minutes?  
  
The girl simply looked up at him. And smiled.  
  
"You want your AC back? Here."  
  
She snapped a finger. All of a sudden, the AC was just there. Sitting there in perfect condition, like the day he first got it. Klein just stopped ranting and stared. Then he turned back to Selskia with a look of amazement and annoyance.  
  
"Why didn't you do that in the first place!?!?"  
  
The girl giggled, and then tilted her head innocently.  
  
"I didn't think you cared..."  
  
Then she stood up and snapped a finger. Instantly, instead of being outside the AC, Klein found himself and the girl inside the cockpit. A bit bewildered by the sudden change of scenery, Klein promptly toppled over from the one inch drop to the floor. Getting up, he looked at Selskia.  
  
"Next time, warn me when you do that."  
  
"Ok!"  
  
Then, the unicorn-like girl tried to kiss him again.  
  
"AUGHHH!!!!!"  
  
He backed into his chair like a frightened rabbit, as Selskia calmly sat down again.  
  
"And don't do that!"  
  
Selskia, however, paid no mind to his words and was already fiddling with a toolbox she had found. Klein was looking over all the parts and typing furiously on the keyboard.  
  
"Vengeance, damage report please."  
  
Under his breath, he added "If you're even there..."  
  
All systems normal  
  
Klein stared at the words on the screen, and then looked back at Selskia.  
  
"How the heck did you do that?"  
  
Selskia simply smiled, then returned to the tools which were now having a small battle in the back of his cockpit, many of them dented and bent.  
  
"Now, back to the Raven's Nest...Should be straight up, if my calculations are correct..."  
  
"Really? Here..."  
  
Selskia dropped the various tools hanging in the air (the screwdrivers were winning at this point) and stood up, her fingers, poised to snap.  
  
"No! Wait!"  
  
The girl stopped, looking slightly confused. She always loved teleporting around. It was fun. And it scared people too.  
  
"And why shouldn't I teleport us up there?"  
  
"First of all, I enjoy the ride up there. Second of all, you didn't tell me you were about to teleport. Fortunately, I know that you snap your fingers before doing that. And last of all, there is no 'us'."  
  
"You hate me, don't you...?"  
  
She frowned and snapped her fingers. Klein's shirt caught on fire, beginning right under the collar. Instantly, Klein stopped, dropped, and rolled, putting out the small fire. There was a hole roughly the size of his hand on his shirt though. He sighed.  
  
"Return it back to normal, would you? And no, I don't hate you. You're simply an annoyance who I would be better off not knowing."  
  
She seemed satisfied, at least. With another snap, his shirt was back to the way it was. Klein looked at her again, and then slumped back in the chair.  
  
"Fine, fine. Have it your way. You can take us up to the Raven's Nest. Save the environment, at least."  
  
Selskia smiled yet again. She nodded quickly, like a hyperactive young 4 year-old, and snapped her fingers again. Klein, watching the view screen, saw that they had reappeared inside the garage and Vengeance was already docked, ready for him to leave. He opened the hatch and took a step out into the 78 degree air, looking around again. He had a slight smile on his face now, barely noticeable, but there.  
  
"Home, sweet home..."  
  
End Part II End Chapter 1  
  
Hi! This fanfic is my second, and the only one I'm really going to work on. Please please PLEASE read and review! No flames, if you don't mind...I need outside opinions if this story's gonna get better! 


	2. Chapter Two Chaos

Mystic Destiny Chapter Two-Chaos  
  
Klein turned back towards Selskia and sighed. Yeah, her horn and hooves were going to let her fit in at the station. Yeah right.  
  
"Umm...Can't you do anything about...Your horn?"  
  
She looked at herself like she had forgotten she was in her body.  
  
"Oh, whoops! Here..."  
  
She pointed at herself and snapped. The change was instantaneous. Her long, wavy, silver hair had turned jet black, and was straight, cut short like most female raven's hair was, only down to her earlobes. She was shorter now, just about an inch shorter than Klein. She was also wearing the standard uniform for ravens, but her eyes remained the same, deep black- brown color. Klein had seen her before...Somewhere...But he quickly shook that thought away. He nodded approvingly and spoke quietly.  
  
"Well, just please don't go berserk and start melting things. Not very good around here."  
  
She answered with a nod, but that gleam in her eyes was still there.  
  
They walked down the hall to the lounge, only a few ravens in the hallway. None of them spoke to Klein, knowing his annoyance at all humanity, but every one of them stared at Selskia walking close behind him. They reached the circular room, shining of steel and metal. As Selskia walked in behind the Raven, the room grew quiet. People were looking over their shoulders at Klein, and slowly turned their gaze to Selskia.  
  
"She's an assistant."  
  
A few nodded their heads and looked away quickly, while others took another close look before turning back to their games of pool. As Klein walked over to a table and sat down, eyes were still on him. They all knew perfectly well that Klein never had assistants. Only a few seconds after sitting down, Selskia had made one of the saltshakers on the table start to hover a foot off the table.  
  
"Don't do that!"  
  
At his words, the people sitting at nearby tables turned and watched the floating saltshaker, dumbfounded. Klein looked over at the group and said in a clear voice.  
  
"She's...ah...A test subject for anti-gravity department. Testing a new miniature anti-gravity projector."  
  
The people all nodded again. Klein had authority here as one of the top Ravens, second, for that matter, so they believed him. Sort of....But soon after they turned, Selskia tried to kiss Klein again.  
  
"AUGH!!!!!"  
  
A few people had turned around quickly enough to see Klein fall out of his chair and onto his back. A few stifled chuckles, but even so, Klein had turned beet red. He turned halfway towards Selskia and, out of the corner of his mouth, said very quietly, yet very angrily.  
  
"I told you not to do anything!!!!!"  
  
Selskia giggled, and replied in a not-so-quiet voice.  
  
"But you're cute!"  
  
Klein took a few steps closer to her, obviously very mad. The rest of the people just kept watching...  
  
"I very clearly stated the fact that this behavior is completely unacceptable!"  
  
Then Klein turned towards the staring crowd and answered in a voice that sounded like he had rehearsed it thousands of times.  
  
"She is a mental case and forgot to take her medicine, so don't bother with her childish behavior. She can't help it and I have no idea why I was chosen to put up with it."  
  
Right before the crowd turned back (again) to their business, Selskia spoke up in a shrill voice.  
  
"I'm not some mental nut!"  
  
A few pool balls from the nearby pool table flew up and, half melted, started to streak towards Klein. He pulled out his pistol and shot four of them quickly, dodging the rest. Of course, by now, the crowd was enraptured, although none dared to say a word.  
  
"Little things like that can't stop me Selskia. You should at least know that by now."  
  
Selskia, however, was clearly very mad. She snapped her fingers at him, and this time all his clothing caught on fire. The stop, drop, and roll technique worked quite well, although there were scorch marks all over him now. The pistol in his hand had also started to melt into metallic goo in his hands, and he quickly dropped the blob, clutching at the burnt hand.  
  
"Calm down, you know the doctor said that getting upset will not help your condition."  
  
But by then, his voice had lost its calm tone and was replaced by a futile attempt to make his strained voice sound normal.  
  
Selskia's eyes were gleaming ever so slightly red, enraged at being called a mental case. But she instantly calmed down and said in the very quiet, mysterious voice that this form of her had.  
  
"Well, if you hate me that much, I'll just leave."  
  
She snapped her fingers again. But this time, instead of the normal instantaneous teleportation, cherry blossoms began to whirl around her. She floated about a foot up in the air and disappeared, cherry blossoms vanishing once they settled to the ground.  
  
As she and the flowers disappeared, all eyes had turned to look at him, searching for answers. Klein, however, had other ideas. He got up and quickly walked out the door, although everyone was still looking at him. One of the newer Ravens had plucked up the courage to run after him and pull at his shirt, pleading for an explanation. Klein simply shook him off, and continued down to the garage.  
  
Once there, he got into his AC and flew down to Earth, back to the same plot of desert where all his troubles had begun. He landed, and turned all power to his AC off.  
  
"My reputation's ruined...The girl's gone, at least..."  
  
He looked back up at the endless sky, looking at the stars and the small circle of light that was the Raven's Nest.  
  
"But now what...?"  
  
End Part I  
  
"My life here is ruined...Might as well go to Mars...At least there, I can start over again...And there, Selskia won't find me...Hopefully..."  
  
Klein was still there, still staring up at the endless sea of stars, still wondering what to do. Behind him, he heard the now familiar noise of hooves thudding against the steel flooring. He turned in his chair, to see Selskia. In her freaky horn girl form, no longer the elegant Raven she used to look like.  
  
"Missed me?"  
  
Klein stood up suddenly, but then fell back into his chair. No use attacking, she'd only reflect it back at him. He laced his fingers together, staring at her, blue-grey eyes icy.  
  
"Well, what do you have to say about your behavior up at the Raven's Nest?"  
  
She remained quiet, smiling ever so slightly.  
  
"You ruined my career, you ruined my life, and you have basically disrupted the very image of all Ravens."  
  
He stood up, advancing on the girl.  
  
"Well? What do you have to say about that?"  
  
She tilted her head. There was no reason for him to be this mad at her, in her opinion.  
  
"Why are you so mad? I was only playing with you..."  
  
He brought out his gun, and fired, knowing that something else would happen to the gun, but he didn't care.  
  
This time, the bullet moved much, much slower. Like it was moving through jelly. Selskia caught the long bullet with one hand and threw it back at him, the bullet now moving like it had been fired from a cannon.  
  
Klein dodged the streaking bullet, and threw the gun at her now. It melted to a puddle of silver on the floor of the AC.  
  
"Can't you just do something to make it so that I never met you!?!? You can do all this, so why don't you pick on someone else!?!?"  
  
The girl nodded, although sadly.  
  
"I don't wanna leave you though..."  
  
"Well, my life would be better off without you!"  
  
She sighed sadly again, then snapped. The world through Klein's eyes began to whirl into a blur of color. He closed his eyes and faded into the stream of color, glad that he was finally getting a second chance...  
  
Klein opened his eyes again, looking around. He was in his AC, only a few miles from the city where he had just completed his mission. He looked around for any trace of the girl. Good, she was gone.  
  
He looked around again. It was almost sundown, and he was still on Earth. Well, might as well stay to watch the sunset. Maybe it was all just a dream...  
  
He looked up this time, and all his thoughts were shattered. There, sitting on top of the view screen, was Selskia.  
  
"I told you to leave me! Leave and don't come back!"  
  
Outside, the girl disappeared. Only to reappear inside the cockpit. Sakura (cherry) blossoms danced around her head, filling the cockpit with its sweet fragrance.  
  
"Mmm...I like using these Sakura blossoms...They smell nice..."  
  
"Why won't you leave me alone!?!?"  
  
She smiled, her cheerful mood restored after the break from Klein.  
  
"But it's fun to travel with you!"  
  
Klein groaned, knowing that there was no way to stop the girl. He sighed, leaning back in the chair, thinking. He got up suddenly and spoke.  
  
"If you don't bug me, or get in the way, or do anything to change how everything is supposed to be, you can stay. But ONLY then."  
  
"Yay! Ok, I'll stay with you!"  
  
She clapped her hands happily, glad to stay with him.  
  
Klein sighed and got back to the controls, getting to the garage to take them back up to space.  
  
Selskia saw this, however, and raised her hand to snap their way up to the station. Klein put a hand over hers, stifling the snap.  
  
"Don't do anything that would change how everything is supposed to be."  
  
She stopped, and sat down sulkily in the corner. Klein smiled. Finally, he could do things right.  
  
They were out in space, speeding towards the space station. Klein was happy, enjoying the ride up, at least a little bit, while Selskia was still sitting in the corner, having a war of the tools (The bolts were winning, this time)  
  
"Would you stop that!? The clanking is getting on my nerves!"  
  
She nodded sadly again, and all the tools and parts in midair clanked onto the steel floor, even louder than before.  
  
Klein turned back to the view screen and looked to the north. There. The Raven's Nest, only about a mile away. Home again, after the mission, and hopefully Selskia would leave him. All of a sudden, the station exploded into a fiery ball of steel.  
  
Their AC barely missed the main ring of fire from the explosion; the force rocking the AC. Klein looked back at Selskia, eyes fiery with anger.  
  
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO ANYTHING! CHANGE IT BACK!"  
  
Selskia, too, was dumbfounded at the explosion. She replied quickly.  
  
"But you told me not to change how things are supposed to be! So I won't. And I didn't make the stupid station explode, either."  
  
He looked at her again, tearing his eyes from the screen.  
  
"You didn't...? But then, how come it didn't happen last time?"  
  
"Well...When you go back in time, you have to change everything, and everybody's given a second chance at everything except the choices that are meant to be by destiny. Obviously, this explosion was only a minor factor...But you see, you're alive, I'm alive, and everything that is meant to be is here. But the choices are only here choose your destiny, and only the ones that matter for the cycle of eternity to stay in balance are the ones that don't change. Even I am not to meddle in such affairs such as this..."  
  
Selskia was looking mystical, almost. A great change from the 4-year old behavior he had seen before.  
  
"Then why did you appear?!?! Why did you ruin my life in a matter of minutes!!??"  
  
"Well, that didn't affect how things are to be. At least not too much...Things would still happen, and would continue to happen. Your destiny would be fulfilled, and you would still do what you were meant to do, although you would be forever known as the laughingstock of Ravens, but what matters would be done. This is simply another possibility for all that have a place in time to do what they need to do. I can meddle in minor things, but something as major as this...It could change the path of life from the road on which it is to take. I could change it, but the punishment would be severe..." "But then h-"  
  
Klein saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned back towards the screen, and could just barely the flash of red from an AC glinting in the sun's light. A red and tan AC. Ares' AC. It was boosting away from the heart of the explosion.  
  
"Ares...?  
  
End Part II End Chapter Two 


	3. Chapter Three Mystic

Note from Selskia As you can probably tell from this chapter, I just plain suck at battle scenes. :P  
  
Mystic Destiny Chapter Three-Mystic  
  
Klein watched the red and tan AC streak towards the moon for a second before he overboosted to try to reach his old friend. But Ares continued on, not noticing Klein's red AC. Klein even tried to message him, but the channel was blocked.  
  
"Selskia? Do you know what happened?"  
  
The girl shook her head, watching the AC closely. Suddenly, she teleported into the vacuum of space, perfectly fine even in the dark void.  
  
Suddenly, Ares' AC stopped, and Klein could get a better look as he caught up. His friend's AC looked just as it had before, with a Karasawa, Moonlight, laser cannon, and a missile launcher, but there were also some strange extensions, as well.  
  
Selskia popped back into Klein's cockpit, thinking. She couldn't see inside the Plexiglas window of the other person's AC.  
  
"I think he blew up the station..."  
  
Suddenly, Ares turned and shot at him, rocket launcher firing and Moonlight about to slice him in half. Selskia, however, acted before Klein had a chance to and easily teleported to the side, behind Ares. Klein wasn't so happy about the teleportation though.  
  
"I told you not to do anything, even if it meant my life..."  
  
All the while, he was firing at Ares and dodging. Neither was hit a single time, matched in skill, power, and speed. Selskia started to snap repeatedly, and every time she did, smaller ACS began to appear, forming a ring around Klein's red AC. They were each about a foot high, and many different colors, weapons, and shapes could be seen. Over 100, in total. Klein turned from the battle for a second, looking at Selskia in disbelief.  
  
"What the heck are they supposed to do!?!?"  
  
Selskia smiled, however, and popped outside to her miniature ACs. She led them with a wave of a hand to the side, away from the battle. One stray shot headed towards them, but one of the minis jumped up at the energy beam and deflected it with a shield right back at Ares. After that, they weren't fired at any more.  
  
During all of this, Klein was busily fighting Ares, dodging a bullet here, firing his chain gun there, and intercepting the missiles that came in his direction. They really were evenly matched. Klein was thinking to himself all the while.  
  
Maybe I am getting better. Maybe I can even be A-1, instead of just A- 2. But...Who's better? Me or Ares?  
  
Selskia was forming the little ACs into small groups, about ten a group. She nodded, and floated back to watch her work. All of them but one streaked out to encircle the larger AC and fired small beams of energy, barely scraping the paint, but forming enough of a distraction for Ares to turn.  
  
Klein, seizing the opportunity, quickly ran in to create a gash in the armor around the core and get a few carefully aimed missiles in the AC's head.  
  
Selskia returned to Klein's cockpit, bringing the one remaining AC back with her. She looked around inside, showing the mini around like she had just adopted it from the pound and was showing it its new home. She was back in a playful mood, and popped out on top of Klein's AC, enjoying the view of the battle. Then she wrote a few words in the air, letters forming in smoky blue shapes. She waved it towards the view screen, so Klein could see her handiwork.  
  
This is fun! Wanna play with my mini AC?  
  
"SELSKIA! Don't do that!"  
  
He frantically tried to see through the smoke, getting hit by a few missiles in the process.  
  
"I'm a little BUSY here! Go bother someone else!"  
  
Selskia looked down at Klein through the Plexiglas and shouted at him.  
  
"Fine! I'll go ask him if he wants to play!"  
  
She looked towards the attack AC, drifted off Klein's AC, and teleported right before being hit by a bullet.  
  
Klein resumed the dodging and firing occasionally, when he noticed that Ares' AC suddenly stopped, and then started to move like a newbie that just got his raven. And none of his shots ever hit him anymore, either.  
  
"What the!?"  
  
A com link appeared in the corner, and on it was Selskia. She had the suit on, and was obviously in control of the AC.  
  
"Whee!!!!! It's been a while since I was last in an AC! Didn't I tell you? I used to be a raven!"  
  
"A raven!? Well, where's Ares!?!?"  
  
She looked around and up at the ceiling. In the background, Klein could hear the muffled shouts of Ares, who was plastered on the ceiling, melded into the steel wall.  
  
"Well, up there! Hm...Wanna battle? Although this AC really isn't my type...Too slow..."  
  
She immediately began to shoot back, although she was obviously not used to these weapons, overshooting and such. Klein was surprised at the girl's skill, for she was actually quite good.  
  
"Gah! I'm getting in my own AC! This thing moves like a slug!"  
  
Klein watched as she appeared out in space, and snapped her fingers. Instantly, a white and sky blue AC appeared off to the side of his. It had a chain gun, Moonlight, Karasawa, and a simple missile launcher. Very light- weight, as far as he could tell. Selskia popped back in, and re-enabled the com link, turning back into the raven image she had at the station.  
  
"Well, how do you like it?"  
  
He looked back to his computer, although he doubted he would get any results.  
  
"Vengeance, any stats on that AC?"  
  
Raven: Selskianna Laputian Raven Nickname: Mystic AC Name: Mystic Angel No further information  
  
Mystic Angel...He remembered that name from somewhere...Looking back up at Selskia's face, he realized who he was seeing. He was looking right at the legendary Raven, the only female to get to the A-2 rank, who also died years ago. And the hyperactive teenager who had messed up his life only minutes before. He couldn't remember much else, but it was a start. He would have to check the database back in his dorm.  
  
"You're the Mystic!? Why didn't you say so!!!!!"  
  
End Part I  
  
"Well, you never asked! You should've known I was Mystic when I turned back to my old form back at the Raven's Nest!"  
  
Selskia was watching the battle, glancing back at the com link occasionally. It was actually going quite well, as far as she could tell. No need to join yet...  
  
Suddenly, Ares vanished.  
  
She looked back to her radar, checking to see if he had used some stealth unit that she hadn't seen. It was easy to blend into the endless void out here with a good stealth attachment. But there was no third red dot of color. Only the blips that represented herself and Klein were on the screen.  
  
"Where did he go!?"  
  
Selskia boosted forward, to the very spot Ares had been in. Nothing. She tried to teleport one of her miniature ACs into her memory of the cockpit. The AC disappeared without a trace, and even Selskia couldn't call it back.  
  
Then he appeared  
  
Right in front of Klein  
  
Charging at him, laser blade flashing  
  
"Augh!"  
  
Klein boosted back and away, firing everything he had at the tan AC while doing so.  
  
But he couldn't hit Ares.  
  
Because Ares had disappeared again.  
  
"Selskia, are you doing something?"  
  
On the com link, Klein could see her shake her head in amazement.  
  
"Of course not...I'm in shock as you are...But he's gone now..."  
  
She shot a few rounds of chain gun into the empty void. Nothing.  
  
"Guess he has to appear to attack...Then disappears again into nothingness to dodge..."  
  
Ares appeared right then, firing about ten missiles before disappearing again, only to reappear behind Klein to slash at his ACs back. Klein boosted up again, looking in amazement.  
  
And so it went on. Ares had flashed in and out of vision, and kept on doing that for a little while, toying with Klein almost.  
  
"Well that would explain why Ares wins in the arena all the time...He cheats."  
  
"Or he could be possessed. I remember, I saw him before. He wasn't acting like this then..."  
  
Ares appeared again, but this time, Selskia jumped in. She fired 5 missiles and boosted up, to bring down her Moonlight on his head, but he disappeared. The Moonlight hit nothing but air.  
  
"This is an impossible battle, Selskia! Turn back time!"  
  
"But it's impossible! I can't turn back time more than onc-"  
  
Her words were cut off by Ares' reappearance. She was the target of the attack this time, and she deftly wove around the missiles as Klein fired for her. Again, right as Ares was about to get hit, he disappeared and the KARASAWA shots flew past, hitting nothing, as Ares was gone.  
  
"We can't beat Ares with this extension on him..."  
  
At those words, Selskia smiled, a plan forming in her head. She turned to teleport all the mini ACs to the void, readying their various weapons. When Ares appeared again, he went after Selskia. With a small hand motion, the minis overboosted at Ares, straight at the extension, and began firing everything they had at it while Selskia continued to dodge, managing a few missiles this time. As Ares disappeared again, Selskia happily noted that he flickered for a second before vanishing, getting hit once. She counted the minis and noticed one was gone. She hadn't seen any explode during the small battle.  
  
"Guys, where did he go?"  
  
The minis promptly began to make trails of smoke, forming words.  
  
He went with the guy  
  
For one of the first times ever, Klein saw true sorrow flicker over her face, as well as excitement. Maybe the mini got at the extension in...wherever...and could defeat Ares there?  
  
Selskia teleported one mini into her cockpit, and hooked the little guy to her AC. The screen flickered for a second, and then an image of the mini AC latched onto Ares' broken attachment appeared.  
  
"I...I think Ares is stuck..."  
  
Klien looked slightly worried for a second, but shook the thought away.  
  
"And I can't leave the Raven's Nest gone, either..."  
  
Klein looked back at the bits and pieces of twisted metal which were the remains of the once glorious space station.  
  
"Selskia, change it back...It's the one home I even remember..."  
  
The girl looked over at him, and nodded gravely, muttering.  
  
"God, I hope the punishment isn't too severe..."  
  
She looked and snapped once. The station reappeared, bustling with activity as if nothing had happened.  
  
And Selskia abruptly keeled over, exhausted.  
  
The mini AC with her took over the AC, and started to pilot it back to the station, Klein following close behind.  
  
Klein docked the AC and got out, walking to Selskia's AC. She was still asleep.  
  
"Great...Now what am I gonna do? I am NOT going to carry her..."  
  
The mini looked up at him, and produced a holographic hover board under the sleeping girl.  
  
"Ok...Come now, er...thing..."  
  
He walked up to his dorm and the mini AC laid Selskia on his bed.  
  
"I really should let her sleep on the floor...Oh well, sheesh."  
  
He got out a holo computer and started to type, looking for any missions he could get. Behind him, Selskia woke up again, and, noticing Klein was obviously not in the mood to talk, she began to make small improvements to her mini AC with small scraps of metal she conjured. Hours passed as Selskia began to catnap on the bed and stare at the featureless ceiling. Abruptly, Klein stood, still holding the computer.  
  
Mission: Eliminate unmanned weapons Location: Caimalin Desert, Earth Units: Unknown Number of Units: Unknown Payment: 70,000 for destruction of all units  
  
Setting it down, he turned to leave, looking back as he was stepping out the room.  
  
"So, are you coming?"  
  
End Chapter Three, Part II End Chapter Three 


	4. Chapter Four Mission

Mystic Destiny Chapter 4-Mission  
  
Vengeance landed on the hot desert sands, looking over the city below. Also below them, were swarms of smallish...things...Klein had never seen any of their type before, and neither had Selskia. Actually, they kind of looked like Selskia's mini ACs, but more like bugs than anything. Golden shiny bugs. Just a few, and he could've squashed them like the bugs they looked like, but the problem was that there were thousands of the tiny things, a giant mass of moving metal. All moving towards the large city. Selskia, back in her own AC, opened a com link.  
  
"They look like scarabs..."  
  
A slight rumble sounded behind the AC, as they turned to see that three other ACs had come to join them. He recognized one as Retiff, a fairly good raven although known to run if the situation got hopeless. The others were new, as far as he could tell. All the ACs had had a missile launchers and Moonlights, but the newbies had grenade launchers and orbit cannons while Retiff had a chain gun and plasma cannon instead. Medium/heavy weights as far as he could tell.  
  
A com link screen opened in front of them, showing Retiff's boyish face.  
  
"Hello Klein, fine day to battle beetles, isn't it?"  
  
"Beetles are fine, but not thousands of them! Ah well, might as well get started."  
  
He started to fire a few missiles into the mass, but it seemed to be absorbed into the bunch as those that were destroyed were instantly replaced. Even with all four of their missile launchers firing, even a few grenades, nothing affected the moving mass. They just kept coming and coming and coming...  
  
"Hm...I guess you were right. What should we do, oh mighty Klein?"  
  
"Don't call me that!" He snapped back quickly. "Wait, let me think..."  
  
He looked back to Selskia's com link to see her also deep in thought.  
  
"Well, any ideas?"  
  
She looked up, with a hopeless expression on her face.  
  
"There has to be an end to all of those things, you just have to find it. Destroy them all, or find their source, that's all I have to say."  
  
Klein looked back out the window to see that the things were quickly approaching the city limit during the time he and the others had been firing and thinking about what to do. If they reached the city limit, no pay for him.  
  
"Well...Can't you just...You know...Make them disappear?"  
  
He hated to ask that of her, but there really wasn't much chance. There must be millions of those things, and all under the top layer they had been blasting at.  
  
"Of course I can. Here."  
  
She snapped.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
So she snapped again. And again. And again. Still nothing. Her hand flew up to her chest, as a shocked expression grew on her face.  
  
"No...No no no no NO!!!!!"  
  
"What's the matter, Selskia? Didn't you say you could just make them disappear?"  
  
She looked at the edge of tears.  
  
"My magic...It's gone...The punishment...I'm sorry Klein..."  
  
But she disappeared and reappeared back in Klein's cockpit. Turning, Klein had a rather sarcastic look on his face.  
  
"And you said you couldn't use magic anymore...Hah! Well, what else are we supposed to do?"  
  
"I can use some magic, just the little powers I had as a raven. And I'm stuck in this form, most likely...But I'm supposed to be a goddess!"  
  
She really did look sad, but then looked out of the Plexiglas at scarabs, and at a fissure running along the rocky ground.  
  
"I've got an idea! Ok, Klein, we don't have much time, do this..."  
  
She started to trace diagrams in the air with little trails of smoke, pointing and listing things to do. It really was a good plan.  
  
"Ok, got it."  
  
She teleported back into her own AC, and the plan began.  
  
Klein didn't shoot at the scarab things, but instead shot at a large crack which was just a few feet ahead of them. A few well placed missiles and the fissure was wide open. Although there was also a slight earthquake, better than those things reaching the city. It seemed like millions of the things were sucked down into the hole, but a smallish mass managed to change direction quickly enough not to fall in, but were met by another large hole ahead, where Selskia had also blown open a crack.  
  
"Yes! We did it!"  
  
Klein nodded his head. All in a day's work. The other ravens were still there, shooting and stepping on the few remaining scarabs so they could get some credit for the work. Suddenly, the ground began to shake.  
  
"What the!? Not more of them...!"  
  
The ground burst open near Vengeance, sending the huge AC flying. Another larger AC had appeared, and had apparently shot a grenade for its entrance. It was a sand colored AC, and it blended in with the endless swirls of sand and rock around it. It was equipped with the grenade launcher it had just fired, a missile launcher, a laser blade, and a machine gun as far as she could tell. Suddenly, it started attacking the nearest ACs, which happened to be Retiff. For its enormous size, the desert AC moved with amazing speed, deftly slicing armor off Retiff's sluggish heavyweight.  
  
Selskia looked back to the view screen.  
  
"Mystic Angel, any stats on that AC?"  
  
No information detected  
  
Klein was helping Retiff, slicing at the AC's weapons. But it dodged every single slash.  
  
The newbies tried to help, or at least what they thought was help. They shot grenades and missiles from afar, not wanting to get too close to their gigantic target, but every single projectile missed. Klein managed to get out of the way when he noticed they were firing, shouting "No you stupid IDIOTS!" The sandy AC danced out of the way as each and every one of the missiles flew past him, and instead hit Retiff's nearly armorless AC, blowing the badly damaged AC to bits.  
  
"RETIFF!!!!!"  
  
End Chapter 4, Part I  
  
Note from Selskia We call this guy the 'invincible AC', and for good reason, too...  
  
Klein looked back at the very spot where his friend had been standing just moments ago. Retiff. Behind him, there was the pop of displaced air. Selskia. Not now...  
  
"Selskia...Go away...Not in the mood to talk..."  
  
"But...*pant*...But I thought you wanted...*pant*...Wanted Retiff..."  
  
He turned in his chair. There, standing in front of him was a panting Selskia dragging along a shocked Retiff. He seemed to be fine, as far as he could tell.  
  
"Just managed to get...*pant*...Get in right before the explosion...*pant*....You take care of him..."  
  
She dropped her load in the back of the cockpit, her usual spot, and teleported back to her own AC. Klein thought Retiff looked fine, although he obviously needed some time to recover from what just happened. He looked back up at the desert AC to find that it was attacking the other two ravens right now, and effectively disabling them. One already lay in a heap off to the side, weapons destroyed and legs slashed up. He fired about ten missiles, and then ran up to the AC firing his KARASAWA and Moonlight flashing in his hand. Amazingly, the AC dodged everyone, and met Klein's moonlight with his own. The desert AC's Moonlight glowed black for a second, and cut through Klein's like it was nothing but a piece of wood.  
  
"What the #$%@?!?!"  
  
Klein jumped back abruptly, tossing the handle of the now broken moonlight aside, noting both pieces' location. /I can fix that later.../  
  
Selskia, meanwhile, had been firing missiles from afar, her AC not well suited for battling such a powerful and fast AC. Every single one was dodged, and nothing she did seemed to affect it. She even sent out a mini AC, hastily made with her other mini, to try to find out what the heck the enemy was using. It never came back.  
  
Klein was getting pummeled. There really wasn't any other way to put it. He dodged the best he could, even over boosting and intercepting half the missiles with his own, but he took more and more hits. Strangely, all the shots seemed to be aimed to cripple, not to kill or destroy the generator or anything. He was moving slower and slower, focused only on defending himself, until he finally came to a stop. His AC was smoldering and blackened, but still functional, although only one brush with anything would topple it. He braced himself for the final killing blow, but it never came. The other AC turned to Selskia, who was deep in thought at the time.  
  
"God, I hope you can do something, Selskia..."  
  
Behind him, Retiff stirred.  
  
"Where...Where am I?"  
  
Selskia was still thinking when the AC turned to her and rushed at her like it had with the other ACs, prepared to reduce her to scrap metal.  
  
"Oh crap..."  
  
She teleported herself and her AC with her to the side, and started up an illusion of herself, each with its own blip on the radar. Immediately, every single one fired its chain gun at the tan AC, which was in the center. Not even noticing the bullets, it charged right at the real Mystic Angel, and the real Selskia. She took a few rounds of machine gun fire before she jumped back, the illusions fading, and fired a single blast or her KARASAWA at the giant AC. It dodged, of course, and the ball of energy instead grazed Klein.  
  
"SELSKIA! YOU IDIOT!!!!!"  
  
He braced himself, but was nonetheless jolted up out of his seat when Vengeance hit the ground, toppled even though nothing had hit it. Retiff was hit in the head at the back of the cockpit, knocked unconscious yet again. Klein looked up at the sky, which was pretty much the only thing he could look at. The sun was setting. Just like when he had first met Selskia.  
  
Selskia danced the dance of death, weaving around missiles and grenades with the occasional nudge of her magic. Her armor was getting low though, and the other AC was virtually untouched. In desperation, she threw her Moonlight at the AC like a javelin, managing to stick the thing in the AC's arm. In return, however, she got a busted missile launcher, and her chain gun was almost out of ammo. He even pulled out Selskia's Moonlight sticking in its arm as if bored. She resorted to simply blasting at him the best she could with her KARASAWA, the lone weapon remaining that actually worked. But the AC didn't get hit at all, and actually didn't dodge them either. No, he had to hit the energy beams back with his enhanced Moonlight. One hit also fried her KARASAWA.  
  
"Klein? What the hell am I supposed to do now?"  
  
"How should I know!?!? Think of something!!!"  
  
She ran over to the piles of machinery that used to be the other Ravens' ACs and tore off a leg. And she chucked it at the sandy AC. The other AC hesitated for a moment, as if in surprise, and deftly slashed it in two with its Moonlight. She did it again. And again. To no avail, but she continued. Better to distract it, if anything. Sighing, she quickly teleported to Klein's cockpit and returned with him in tow.  
  
"Any suggestions? I'd let you take the controls if I could, but you can't."  
  
He shrugged, thinking.  
  
Selskia went back to the opposing AC again, and just stood in front of it. Surprisingly, it didn't do anything, either. Suddenly, she teleported behind the AC, giving it a kick in the back. Of course, nothing happened, but she did it for the heck of it anyway. In retaliation, the Ac spun around and gave Selskia a slash, cutting through the little remaining armor like butter.  
  
Klein looked up at the sky again, squinting because of the little light outside. The sun's last few beams shone for a second, and disappeared, leaving them in near darkness. Abruptly, the ground started to shake again. He looked up, to see a dust cloud forming around the other AC as it burrowed into the ground. Finally, there was nothing left of the AC but a memory, and little left of any of the ACs, crippled and falling apart.  
  
"Well, now what? It's not like any of our ACs can manage the journey back to the city in this condition..."  
  
End Chapter 4, Part II  
  
Selskia was sitting against her AC, the only one that was actually worth working on. The rest of the ACs were trashed. Vengeance was a mess of blackened metal, and the other three ravens didn't really have ACs at all. The remaining weapons were moved to Selskia's AC, and Klein was working on fixing his broken Moonlight with some help with Selskia's first mini AC over to the side. Mystic Angel was actually in fair condition, although it only had 2 weapons: A recovered missile launcher and a nearly-out-of-ammo KARASAWA. Klein was working on the Moonlight, and he would be the pilot if the desert AC came back. She had no idea how, but Klein just said that it was coming back and it would be better to stay here. Even he had looked surprised as he said those words. Standing up, the girl walked over to Retiff, Perth, and Gailin. Retiff had recovered from his injuries with nothing but a few bruises and cuts while the other newbies had simple cases of shock, although one had a nasty gash on one arm. Spreading some salve from her supplies, she put the bandage back on Perth's arm and stood, looking up at the stars and the boulder that was their shelter for the night.  
  
Returning to her work, Selskia went to salvage more metal scraps from the various ACs so she could make more mini ACs. Kamikaze was the plan. Some metal, a few fuses, and a touch of magic were all she needed to inflict some damage on the enemy. Although they were nothing more than shells that were lined with explosives, they did their job, as one earlier test had showed. Setting her 5th on top of a rock, she turned back to Klein, slightly worried. He had been working on that thing ever since they had gotten the pieces with no success. It was blackened from burns and the beam was discolored. When they tried to hook it up, no hum of electricity flowed through to make the blade. Yet he still worked on.  
  
She sat back down and leaned against the rock, a few of the mini ACs stepping towards her. All 5 of them had a crudely made bomb strapped to them, her kamikaze dive bombers. Reassuring the little machines that she was all right, Selskia returned to work, calling her original mini over to help her occasionally, much to the annoyance of Klein. When she finally set down her tools and gave a last sleep command to the minis, there were 25 of them, lined up in rows of 5. Going back to the small area that they had set up, she leaned against the boulder on the various jackets they had laid down for pallets. The moon was at its high, full and providing enough light to work by. Selskia nodded off to sleep, hoping tomorrow would be better.  
  
Klein was still working, still carefully arranging the microchips and wires. Need for sleep didn't touch his eyes at all, in fact, he seemed able to go another few nights without sleep. With a brief swipe of a hand, he commanded the little mini to stop wielding a piece on as he started to polish the handle. He was done at last. The previous failure was to be expected, without spending time on the wiring. This time, he re-enforced every wire and took out every flaw in the shining metal. Stepping back to look at his handiwork, he took a glance at the starry night sky. The moon was almost about to set. Moving quickly, he went to Selskia's AC to see if the blade was still compatible. It should be, with all that work he had done checking and rechecking it.  
  
The blade was shorter than most, but enhanced far beyond any mere mass production Moonlight. The beam was jet black with a deep, midnight blue edge. He had taken out some of the coloring beams to make room for the power supply, although the little he could salvage wasn't quite fit for a beam sword. His modifications had taken care of that. Actually, it matched the night sky itself. Speaking of the night sky...  
  
Klein looked up again. Actually, he didn't have to look up too far to see the moon, which was setting. A thought flashed through his head, with no apparent reason. /It's coming...With the light of day it comes unbidden with the setting of the sun it hides./ He shook his head. /What am I thinking! I don't know that! It's the same thing that happened earlier.../ The same thing that told him it was coming back. Shaking his head, he walked towards Selskia and the others.  
  
Before he could reach the sleeping girl, however, the ground had started shaking. Jolting awake, Selskia jumped up and snapped her minis to attention, waking Retiff, Perth, and Gailin. Klein was already running towards the AC sitting on the ground, already ready for battle. Selskia grabbed all three of them and teleported up to the cockpit where Klein was already starting the AC. All 25 of the minis followed her, sitting on her AC's head.  
  
From Mystic Angel, the rumbling wasn't as strong, especially when Klein boosted a little in the air. Below, a vortex of sand was forming and a very familiar head poking out of the center. Jumping up and out of the spinning mass of sand, the AC came up slashing, the sand stopping the moment he exited it. Spinning to face the mysterious AC, Klein met the blade with his own, light meeting dark. Electric blue sparks flew as the swords clashed, and they jumped back, each firing. Klein only fired a few, well aimed shots while the desert AC was firing round after round of machine gun fire. Everyone was happy to see that the enemy's moonlight was just a little bit duller, and a little unsure of itself despite its obvious advantage. Selskia poked her head over Klein's shoulder.  
  
"I think we might just win this..."  
  
End Chapter 4, Part III  
  
Klein piloted Selskia's lightweight AC well, despite the fact that he was accustomed to medium-heavyweights. As he focused in on the battle, Selskia noticed that he never got hit, not by a single bullet. Turning back to her own job in the battle, she readied the mini ACs to kamikaze.  
  
Despite his apparent calm demeanor and his impossible task, Klein was actually having fun. A true enemy that he was nothing compared to. That was what he liked to do, and win in the battle. Dodging the opposing AC's newest round of grenades, he dove in and slashed once before boosting back to safety. Already, there were many dents and slashes in the opponent's armor.  
  
Looking up, Selskia held the first AC in her hands, ready to teleport the moment the way was clear. As Klein slashed once again, she closed her eyes and sent the little AC to the edge of the desert AC's armor, the little bomb crawling into one of the slashes in its armor and self destructing. The scrap of armor over the core blew off, scorching the core a little as well. Reaching over to the next one, she readied it too for combat.  
  
/Finally, an opening.../ Klein looked over the enemy AC once again, wondering whether he should attack another section of armor or the defenseless core. Armor.  
  
He slashed again, weaving in and out of the sandy AC's volleys and slashing again on its shoulder, trying to disable the arm. Stepping back, he fired one shot of the KARASAWA, hitting the AC on the head. In return, he got a shot in the leg by a grenade.  
  
Selskia whispered a few words to the AC before teleporting it to the arm, letting it crawl in and self-destruct, blowing the arm off. Good, no more machine gun fire. Of course, Klein was doing fine with the machine gun firing at him, but at least it was one load off his back.  
  
Klein blinked the sweat out of his eyes so he could see again. It was a hard battle, dodging everything, but somehow he managed. Looking back to Selskia for a brief moment, he saw her out of the corner of his eye, holding another mini AC. Turning back, he managed to see a grenade right before it exploded near the core. And another before it exploded almost in his face.  
  
Danger: Overheating Danger: Armor low  
  
/Great...I better finish this fast.../ He aimed for the grenade launcher this time, best to get that troublesome weapon off. Firing the last few shots in the KARASAWA, he ran forward and slashed once again. In vain. The desert AC met Klein's blade with his own, and fired a few more shots into Klein.  
  
Danger: Armor reaching critical level Danger: Heat reaching critical level  
  
Peeking over Klein's shoulder once again, Selskia looked at all the readings on damage. They were all very very low...  
  
"Well, this looks bad..."  
  
She reached back to her mini AC and sent it to the grenade launcher, hoping it wouldn't be blown up before it could reach it...But it made it, and blew the troublesome weapon to pieces. And with that, an idea.  
  
"Klein, get up close...I have an idea..."  
  
Complying, he boosted up closer, carefully though. At least there weren't any more grenades to dodge. But it didn't help much anyway; any hit could kill all of them.  
  
"Closer..."  
  
"I can't GO any closer...Unless you want us all to die!"  
  
"Go closer anyway...Or reach out an arm or something..."  
  
Sighing, he ducked and boosted up, dodging and reached an arm out.  
  
Selskia closed her eyes once again, and teleported herself (holding the mini AC) out onto the AC's arm. Throwing the mini off, she teleported it right into the cockpit of the enemy...And made it self destruct. It fired one last shot of defiance before it wilted and shut off. Then disintegrated into thousands of tiny scraps of metal.  
  
"That's over with now..."  
  
End Part IV, Chapter 4 End Chapter 4 


	5. Chapter Five History

Note from Selskia So the good part begins...*evil grin*  
  
Mystic Destiny Chapter 5-History  
  
Klein walked into the dorm hallway, Selskia trailing behind, balanced precariously on the mini AC's hover board. He looked back at her before walking to the manager.  
  
"Hey, could I rent a dorm for this new raven?"  
  
"Well, sir, that would be-"  
  
Klein cut him off. "Take it off my account"  
  
"Erm...Ok, here. Have a nice day."  
  
He grabbed the keycard from the man, motioning for the mini to follow again. Room 485...Great, it was close to his room...She would probably visit him at least 10 times a day now. Sliding the card on the identification slot, and pressing Selskia's limp hand on the pad, he slid the door open. A new room, just like he had asked for.  
  
Sliding to the bed, Klein helped the small AC to lift Selskia on the bed, covering her up before he got up and sat on a nearby chair. Selskia really shouldn't have tired herself out so much...  
  
*Flashback*  
  
The battle was finally over. Falling to her knees, Selskia slumped over onto Klein's lap, exhausted. Magic and physical exertion had finally gotten to her. Klein, of course, jumped up, letting her head lay on the seat rather than him. Why did she always have to do that? She should've gotten more sleep...  
  
He got up and piloted the AC back to the nearest city, which was a fair distance away by now. Everyone but him was asleep, leaning on each other, or in Selskia's case, leaning against the chair. Strangely enough, Klein himself wasn't very tired. Sighing, he woke the other men and sent them off to their rooms, while he checked his rewards for the mission.  
  
Mission status: Success 20,000 credits accounted for Klein 20,000 credits accounted for Selskia 10,000 credits accounted for Retiff 10,000 credits accounted for Perth 10,000 credits accounted for Gailin  
  
Only 20,000 credits!?!? That wouldn't even cover some of the cheaper stuff. His entire AC was destroyed, for goodness sake! Only Selskia's was in relatively good shape, and it still needed extensive repairs. And HE wasn't gonna pay for her, either. Good thing he had a good stockpile in his account, otherwise he'd be dead...  
  
Turning, he shook Selskia gently to wake her, muttering to himself. She wouldn't budge. He poked her.  
  
"Wake up..."  
  
Still no movement. The little mini AC Selskia called her own walked over, and picked her up with its hovercraft, displaying bright red words in Klein's face.  
  
She needs rest.  
  
Sighing, he got up, and climbed out of the AC, still muttering about prices and repairs...  
  
*End Flashback*  
  
Klein got up again, and went to his own dorm. Grabbing the pillow off his bed, /Why doesn't the stupid robot notice that I sleep on the floor?/ he laid down beside his bed and pulled his jacket over him, dozing off...  
  
Later...  
  
Selskia opened her eyes slowly. /Where am I?/ She tried to sit up, to find she couldn't, with everything spinning around her. /What happened?/ Her throat was dry, so dry it hurt to breathe. /Klein?/ Memories hit her hard, swamping her with details of the battle. /The AC...My AC...Klein!/ She reached her arm over, trying to get up again. Suddenly, someone filled her limited vision.  
  
"Good, you're awake."  
  
The voice was familiar. Of course, it was Klein's. She tried to answer him, but all she could manage was a croak. A kind hand held a cup of water to her cracked lips, and she drank gratefully. Finally managing to sit up, she looked around, seeing Klein's computer lying in a nearby chair and her new surroundings. And, of course, Klein leaning over her bed.  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
Klein laughed, an odd sight to see. After all, this was Klein.  
  
"This, Selskia, is your dorm. Your very own so you won't have to stay in mine all the time."  
  
"How long have I been here?"  
  
Klein looked back at the wall, counting to himself and pointing fingers occasionally.  
  
"Oh, I'd say around...4-5 days?"  
  
She blinked once, twice, then looked back at Klein.  
  
"Where's Mystic Angel!"  
  
"Your AC is in the garage, and you have some bills to pay off."  
  
He got out a slip of paper from the repairmen, handing it to Selskia. She read it slowly, looking over each repair. Her AC had been pretty trashed, and Klein obviously took back his modified Moonlight. Then her eyes glanced over the total price for the repairs.  
  
"50,000 credits!?!? Just for repairs!"  
  
Klein nodded solemnly. He reached over and grabbed his computer, handing it to the girl.  
  
"Here, you have to specify your account. And I have no idea how you're gonna pay for it all..."  
  
It was here that she smirked. She had a good amount in one of her accounts, after all, she was a fair high ranked raven when she was alive. She typed in her main account, and got Access Denied back. Of course, they deleted that one when she died...  
  
The next account, her private account, was also deleted. From her death, naturally. What about her savings account? It was her aunt's old account, and surely she was still alive...And it was there. A nice, 1,200,000 credit cushion just in case she ever needed it. Buying a few more replacement parts and paying for the repairs, she logged off. Then she got an idea.  
  
"Hey...You know they have all those bios on all those ravens that died? I wonder what mine says..."  
  
Typing in a few more words, she skimmed through her bio, laughing at moments, recalling old memories. It was kinda true, although it didn't really mention anything about her personal life, and she couldn't remember that anyway. Then she reached the bottom, and gasped. With a shocked look on her face, she looked up at Klein and back at the holo screen.  
  
"Selskia? What?"  
  
Turning the computer to him in reply, she had a paragraph highlighted.  
  
Selskia died on June 24, 2476 while on a mission to eliminate a research facility. However, she was attacked by several other ACs, and her partner, Klein, killed all of them, including the famous raven.  
  
End Chapter 5, Part I  
  
Note from Selskia The freaky part. I hated rping this, but it's kinda cool if you read it during the daytime. Of course, I rped this at night, so pity my pour, tormented soul...  
  
His lips formed a snarl as he watched the monitors, watched as the memories were triggered. Turning, he reached over to the rarely used alarm buttons. Popping the plastic case open, he smashed one of the smaller red ones in his anger, a silent alarm, and crushed the smooth plastic to bits. Almost immediately, the team was at his doorway, asking what was wrong.  
  
"He found out! Go! Reinforce the memories! DON'T LET HIM REMEMBER!!!"  
  
Back at the dorm...  
  
"But...I didn't kill you!"  
  
Klein was pacing in his room, looking over at Selskia, who was sitting in his computer chair checking over old news files.  
  
"But everything says you did...I can't remember anything about the actual event though..."  
  
Klein stopped his pacing and looked up at Selskia. Sitting down, he put his head in his hands, rubbing his temples.  
  
"Thing is...I don't remember either."  
  
They sat there like that for a few seconds, both deep in thought. Suddenly, Klein's head snapped up, and he got up, almost in a daze, muttering to himself.  
  
"Of course...What else? It has to be..."  
  
Pushing Selskia aside, he walked out the door and down the hall, thinking. /The dream...It has to be the dream...Of course!/ Selskia ran out after him, mini AC in tow. But Klein had been walking fast, and steadily, and was almost out of sight by then. She ran after him, into the garage. She just managed to see him get into Vengeance and leave.  
  
"Vengeance...why'd I name you that?"  
  
Klein was already out in space, heading down to Earth. Back to that same plot of desert where it all started.  
  
No data related to names found.  
  
Memories were starting to fill his head, remembering the details of the place and one thing that he didn't pay any mind to: His familiarity with the old, abandoned laboratory. Suddenly, the pop of displaced air interrupted his thoughts. Paying no mind to Selskia, he continued, muttering to himself.  
  
"Klein, where are you going?"  
  
No response. He just kept going, nearing the giant orb below, Earth.  
  
"It has to be...The dream...Past...Has to..."  
  
/Nightfall. Like it was then...I think...I can't remember! Only...Fragments...Maybe it was all just a dream? No, it can't be...It has to be.../  
  
The moon was rising over the patch of desert, lighting the ground eerily. His AC spread long, dark shadows across the abyss of desert, as it walked forward. Forward almost to the town, and it was then that Klein finally spoke aloud.  
  
"I remember this. That tower didn't used to be there, that building. Ah, there!"  
  
He pointed straight at what seemed a hole in a cliff. A dark hole shining with steel. An abandoned laboratory, a memory infused deep in his mind. Selskia walked uneasily towards him.  
  
"Err...I don't like the looks of this place...It scares me..."  
  
Paying no mind to Selskia, he continued forward. Stopping the AC next to the doors, he popped the hatch open and jumped out, hopping to the ground. All around him were shards of glass and metal, jutting out of the ground and sprinkling the dirt around him. Selskia appeared next to him, afraid to jump onto the glass. Clinging on to Klein, they both opened the door.  
  
It was definitely a lab, and probably one of those human genetics and android workings that the government had banned long ago. The floor was cold steel, as were the walls and ceiling. The lights were off, all except emergency lights, casting eerie shadows across the floor. The place was strangely clean, despite its abandoned look. Finding a light switch, they flipped it on and Selskia screamed.  
  
Humanoid corpses were floating in tubes along the hallway. They looked human, they had the typical shape and color, but they had tubes connected to them and limbs in all the wrong places, some without eyes and mouths, and some with several. All around them, bubbles floating in the green liquid they were suspended in. They didn't move, fortunately, and Selskia clung even closer to Klein.  
  
They walked down the hall, Selskia glancing from side to side frantically, and stopped at a door.  
  
"Selskia, don't come with me...I remember this place...Nothing will hurt you..."  
  
The girl nodded slowly, although whimpering like a hunted mouse. She sat facing a nearby wall, observing a label for a small bottle, the wording almost impossible to make out.  
  
Klein walked into a smaller room, with a single, empty tube in the center. This room was the most familiar to him; he knew every detail of it somehow. There was a console in front of the tube, still on and glowing green. Walking up to it, he unidled the program and scrolled through, clicking on 'Test Information'. Another holo screen popped up in front of him as he started reading the bright green on green words.  
  
Project Name: Genesis Project ID: 102DTA Project Objective: To create the ultimate raven to aid the Abomination. Also to verify supernatural signs of power when a subject is born under certain circumstances. To test the enhances created by Tyler Pendragon in earlier experiments, untested on human subjects thus far. Project Length: March 3, 2402 and still in progress  
  
Back where Selskia was, staring at a wall, a single corpse twitched unseen to Selskia. It saw the young girl in front of it, and, as body guard, warned everyone else. In a hoarse voice, it whispered through the clear liquid, "In...Intruder!"  
  
End Chapter 5, Part II  
  
Another alarm blared now, and this time, it wasn't a silent one. He covered his ears and yelled over the din at his fellow team members, who were looking at various monitors, trying to see what the fuss was about. He already knew what it was though. The one thing he hoped wouldn't happen.  
  
"GET HIM OUT OF THERE!!!!!"  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Klein continued to scroll through the files, and stopped at the project records. Squinting in the little light, he leaned in closer to read the fine text.  
  
Day 1: Subject A has just been brought in. The whole project isn't voluntary, and I hope it turns out all right...If we're caught, the whole projects' screwed.  
  
Day 4: Most of the enhancements have been put in, and the subject is still in a state of coma. He shouldn't wake up for a long time...Hopefully.  
  
Day 12: It escaped today. All the enhancements were in when it broke through the glass and escaped the lab. It is thought that he is gone, out to blend in with the normal people. Yet, we can do nothing about it-If we were caught, all of us would die, Abomination or no.  
  
He scrolled down near the end, glancing at a few words here and there. Then stopped. He recognized this part vaguely.  
  
Year 16 Day 48: The test subject's son has been captured. The boy is but 10 years old, but still retains much of his father's enhancements. All we had to do was add a few more that got removed through the genetic process.  
  
Klein stood up and looked around. Why is this place so familiar? I can't be that old...His hand slipped onto a palm pad and he felt a prick on his finger. Grabbing his hand back, he noticed that the holo screen had changed again. This time, it showed a familiar double helix-His DNA. It was standard memorization nowadays, everyone had to know theirs, or at least recognize it. Another, similar strand was held up to it, and the program whisked through all the coding in those two strands. Then a number and a few letters grew out of the bunch and centered on the middle of the screen, flashing red. The computerized voice spread throughout the room, reading the text.  
  
"DNA Match for Subject A: 93%"  
  
Klein's eyes widened as he continued to watch the program carry out its duties. Another strand appeared on the screen. Like his, as far as he could tell. It ran through the DNA identification process again, and yet another announcement echoed through the room.  
  
"DNA Match for Subject B: 100% Subject identified as: Klein, #24869"  
  
Klein gaped at the screen. So it was true - He was just a lab experiment. No wonder this place had looked so familiar...He looked around at his old home for a few seconds. /So this was my childhood.../ He looked back up at the holo-screen again, to see it changed back to the old records.  
  
Year 22 Day 235: Subject B has escaped. He shattered the glass like his father had, once the boy was 16. Luckily, once he was out, we managed to disable his memory of everything that went on in here. Pendragon doesn't think so, but I just think his whole theory about the memory wipe is just bull. We closed up the lab and left today. Best there be no trace of us.  
  
Klein snapped up as he heard a shriek from outside. Turning abruptly and running out the door, her met with an awful sight.  
  
Selskia was on the floor, her hands up and small bits of flesh were scattered everywhere. One of the tubes was broken, the gooey liquid spilling across the floor. More tubes were shattering as Klein watched, and Selskia fled, teleporting back to his AC with a pop and a yelp. For some reason, Klein wasn't afraid of the disembodied corpses, actually, he felt like he knew some of them. And he did. They paid no mind to Klein, stumbling about, and searching for Selskia. He actually walked up to some of them, remembering the guards and his 'friends'. Walking past them, Klein was thinking. /This is practically my family...My past...I never could remember being anything but a raven all my life. This explains it.../  
  
Klein found Selskia cowering in the corner of his AC as he walked in calmly. He started up the AC and started to fly back to the station, all while trying to get Selskia to stop shaking in fear, comforting the girl. As they flew back, he noticed something very odd-A tall, deathly black obelisk was towering not too far from where the lab was, polished and unearthly. It wasn't there before, he was sure of that. At the sight, Selskia cringed in fear again.  
  
"Not...Not that again!"  
  
"Eh? What's wrong with the tower thing, Selskia?"  
  
But Selskia wouldn't say a word about it. She just seemed to have a fear of the thing, like it was evil. Perhaps it was. Klein would have to go explore it later. The events of the day still weighing heavily on his mind, he continued back up to the Raven's Nest, calming Selskia down yet again.  
  
End Chapter 5, Part III End Chapter 5 


	6. Chapter Six Problems

Mystic Destiny Chapter 6-Problems  
  
They reached the nest just a few hours before morning, neither of them tired, and Selskia starving, although Klein was merely a little thirsty. As soon as Klein was out of his AC, he started to head towards the lounge, but had to turn back to get a still cowering Selskia out from under the console. She was still shaking from the view of the mysterious black obelisk, but she still wouldn't say a word about it.  
  
As the two finally reached the small, but full lounge, a tall girl immediately broke off from a group near the center and walked straight to Klein, wrapping one arm carelessly around his shoulders, yet possessively at the same time. The girl had platinum blonde hair, and had a very popular and princess look about her. She was wearing a tight futuristic looking jumpsuit thing, that showed off her figure far too much for any decency, and was cut to do so, as well as low.  
  
"Hi Kleiny darling! I finished that mission!"  
  
The girl shot a quick, hateful glance at a completely surprised Selskia before grabbing Klein's arm with her free hand and poking her head on Selskia's usual position, peeking over his shoulder. She was too tall for that though, and it looked awkward, with the girl almost a full 2 inches taller. Klein tried to shrug the persistent girl off, but failed miserably, groaning.  
  
"What are you doing with her Klein?"  
  
She obviously meant Selskia. She was still in a half shocked position, even more so now that the accusation had been made. The young goddess simply backed away towards a wall, in a rather peaceful movement. But the raven clinging on Klein wasn't satisfied. Klein spoke up first, however.  
  
"Selene, GET OFF OF ME!"  
  
Selene pretended not to notice, but let go of Klein. Only to advance on Selskia angrily, like a tigress. Selskia slowly backed into a corner as the blonde approached, meek and quiet. The girl was far taller than Selskia, who was a few inches shorter than Klein. Even though Selene towered over Klein, but she obviously didn't care. But Selene completely filled the girl's vision by the time she stopped advancing on her, now inches from the girl's face.  
  
"Girl, you'd better stay away from my Klein. You'll regret it otherwise."  
  
Klein then shoved Selene out of the way to get Selskia out of the corner, sighing. It was almost an everyday thing, but she had managed to avoid her many times by giving her near impossible missions. She took them eagerly, wanting to impress him, but he was glad of that minor fact, at least. It kept her off his back, albeit for that little time, but it was something. Once Selene had recovered, he spoke again, almost complaining.  
  
"Selene, stop it. At least leave Selskia out, she's new around here."  
  
By then, a few of the patrons had noticed the group, but shrugged it off. Everyone knew about Selene always going after Klein, and everyone knew even better that the top raven hated it. Something like this was almost common, and they paid no mind. If anything, they felt sorry for the new girl caught up in the mess, but simply continued talking amongst themselves.  
  
"Well, Klein, if she's new, why are you spending time with her? You never spend time with newbies! You should be spending more time with me!"  
  
Klein groaned again. Hopefully she didn't have something else with her. The girl had a rich father, and a very influential and respected one, too. So far, he'd been through bribes, tantrums, letters, food poisoning, gassing, small traces of drugs slipped into his drinking water, even a small SWAT team had invaded his dorm one night! He turned back to Selskia briefly to check how the girl was dealing, and she seemed fine. He turned back to Selene, shaking his head.  
  
"Stop it. Just stop. Now's not a good time."  
  
She, of course, ignored him and held a contract in his face. Of course she had something he had to do. Klein read the contract for a few seconds, looking over the threat of losing his AC, his status, and his credits if he didn't agree to willingly go on a mission with the girl. He said "No." quite firmly, but Selene pushed the notion aside.  
  
"Well, you'd better get ready for a mission in a few minutes my dear Klein. I'll be waiting for you."  
  
She tried to kiss Klein on the cheek, looking back over at Selskia to see how she was taking it, also managing to fall flat on her face as Klein dodged her. /So that's how he dodges so well.../ Selskia looked up at Klein wonderingly as the Selene girl walked out angrily, her small group following her. He obviously didn't like the girl, and had to go on a mission.  
  
"I'll just go take a nap in my dorm I guess...And eat there, I suppose."  
  
Selskia looked around at the people for a second, took another look at Klein, hesitated, and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek, expecting yet another dodge. But instead, he just stood there, seeming oblivious while Selskia smiled and walked out of the room. He stood like that, blinking, for about a second before shaking his head and walking out of the room himself, to get ready for the upcoming mission, and torture.  
  
End Chapter 6, Part I  
  
Selskia wasn't in her room, as she was supposed to be. The girl had teleported into Klein's room while Klein went on the mission with that Selene woman. Turning the laptop on, she sat in Klein's usual spot, searching through the files. She had been scared stiff in the laboratory, but she could remember what she had seen. There was a notepad on the counter, abandoned, with a file name on it. Her mini AC didn't quite have what it takes to hack into a foreign computer yet and she needed the use of Klein's full computer. It immediately beeped at her, asking for a password. Flipping the iDisc port open, she slipped in a small, diamond looking flat diskette, with a special hacking program on it that she and her mini AC had been working on earlier. The program did its work, and let her in, but it would only stay for a few minutes before the computer's security alert alarmed.  
  
She flipped the second port open and slipped yet another small shining diskette into the slot, watching as her second program came into view. This one was old and complex, and very reliable. The only thing she worried about was the possibility that the newer virus and hacker detectors had learned how to detect this particular program of her making. Fortunately, it didn't.  
  
A second screen popped into view, with another computer screen on. Activating the first program again, she smiled smugly. This was a little known ability she had, and she was proud of her expertise. Once in, the former hacker quickly scanned the files, and stopped on the one she was looking for. Activating the touch controls, she tapped the file and watched it open.  
  
This particular one was a record of all the improvements they had implanted into Klein. She had grown suspicious of his amazingly odd abilities over time, thinking they were another kind of power, like the one she had. It could be done with technology, but it was a rare thing, and so far undiscovered, as far as she knew. She read the list long list, stopping to highlight a section.  
  
Emotional Block-This particular part was included to make the soldier merciless, and have nothing to be afraid of or anything to care for, thus making concentration better and have fewer distractions.  
  
Nutrient Stockpiling-A constant problem with soldiers is that it costs a fortune to feed them. With this, a soldier only needs a square meal once a month or less, if vitamin tablets are consumed.  
  
Futurecraft-A rather chancy implant, created by Dr. Pendragon, allows the patient to be able to 'sense' a little about the immediate future. This was discovered by accident, and research is still being conducted on its abilities and why it works, with no success thus far.  
  
Futurecraft was the important part. So, they had discovered a little of the magic she used through an accident...The gods hadn't thought it possible by mere mortals, but it appeared that they had. The edges of the screen flashed red once, buzzing at her. It was time to get out of this before the securities of both computers locked her in and blared an alarm. Closing out, she turned off the computer and leaned back. So that's why he seemed so odd...  
  
Klein was boosting across another desert, in another barren area. Selene's cotton candy looking AC was next to his, and the pilot constantly annoying him over the com link. Her face popped up yet again on the view screen, much to Klein's annoyance.  
  
"Do you think we're near the HQ yet, Kleiny?"  
  
"..."  
  
"I wonder how much of the money we're going to earn...What do you think?"  
  
"..."  
  
"I think we're cl-"  
  
"SELENE! SHUT UP!"  
  
Klein did an abrupt about face, and, still moving at the same speed as Selene, he fired on the girl's AC. A few shots from each weapon and a slash brought down the unsuspecting girl's AC, the weapons destroyed before the girl could react. From there, Klein proceeded to pick apart the AC until only the core was left, all while Selene was screaming in his ear through the com link.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?!? THIS IS MY AC!!!!"  
  
"Well, Selene, you wanted me to go with you on a mission. You never said how it was to be."  
  
With a smile, Klein picked up the core and rolled it into a cave nearby, and turned off the com link. He would retrieve her later...Or not. She was a pain...Maybe this would do the girl some good. He flew up and away from the cave, searching for the hidden headquarters.  
  
Something told him he should go to the East...And there. A glint of steel caught his eye. Landing carefully, he sent out one of Selskia's mini AC's, left in his cockpit from earlier. Watching out of its eyes, he noted that the shipment of the new parts was coming in from the West--He was supposed to keep it from reaching the building while causing as little chaos as possible. There were five guard MTs by the gates, easy work for him, but he probably wasn't supposed to kill them off.  
  
It was a good thing he had the stealth extension with him on this mission. Switching it on, he simply walked in front of the transport vehicle, and stood there. With a crash, it smashed into his AC's right leg, and he stepped on it idly, crushing it. Immediately, the MTs started firing at the shimmer they knew was him, as Klein overboosted up. Best not to do any damage to those--The less damage, the more pay.  
  
He hesitantly returned to the cave where Selene's core was, retrieving the girl and the core. She wasn't very happy, especially with the credits she got from the mission.  
  
"Only 2000 credits!?!? 2000!?!? While you get an entire 15,000!?!?!?"  
  
Klein shrugged. They were both in his AC now, and Selene was on the verge of destroying everything in sight. He closed his eyes for a second, thinking of a nice, good threat before opening them again.  
  
"Look. Either calm down, or I leave you stranded in the middle of the desert."  
  
At least that got her to shut up.  
  
He started to head back to the nest again, dragging a pouting Selene and her AC's core with him.  
  
End Chapter 6, Part II End Chapter 6 


	7. Chapter Seven Arena

Mystic Destiny Chapter 7-Arena  
  
The man stood near monitor, watching as the efficiency rate of one of the enhancements bottomed out. A nervous, mousy student ran to the doorway, muttering a few things to his boss.  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'There's an error'!?!?!? ERRORS NEVER DID ANYONE ANY GOOD! Go...FIX IT!!!!!"  
  
~~~~~  
  
Klein opened the door to his dorm to see everything untouched. Good, the girl hadn't been here after all. Checking over everything, he found it was all perfectly fine, everything where he had left it. He then lay down on the bed to think about what to do...If his little plan would actually work. It probably wouldn't, with all his thinking, and Selene would probably overhear and tag along like the rich girl she was, or Kelron would notice and give him another lecture...He rolled to face the door. Maybe it would be best to get it all over with now...  
  
He walked out of his dorm, carefully closing and locking the door behind him, looking up and down the hallway. Good, no one was around. He carefully walked over to Selskia's dorm (which happened to be two dorms to the left and right across the hall) and tested the door out of habit. To his surprise, the door swung open slightly, letting him see inside. Stepping through the threshold, he looked for the girl he knew would (probably) be here.  
  
Selskia was curled up on the bed in the middle of the room, sound asleep. A small pile of computer printouts lay next to her bed, stacked in an almost neat fashion. Walking to her computer chair, Klein sat down and looked at the sleeping girl. Immediately, her eyes snapped open and she sat up.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Well...Let's see...Are you busy right now...?"  
  
He shifted his feet uneasily. Maybe it was best to scrap the entire plan. But then, what about the wasted credits Kelron spent on him...He mentally shook his head. Well, he was already into it, might as well continue.  
  
"Nah, nothing to do...Why?"  
  
Selskia looked up at the man curiously. This was odd...He had hated her a while ago.  
  
"Well...Do you want to go to an arena match with me? I got these tickets from that idiot Kelron, and I don't really have anyone to see the match with..."  
  
Klein reached into one of his pockets and pulled out the two tickets to the next match, in the space arena. Kelron had given them to him just a little while ago, telling Klein to spend a nice day with Selene. Of course, he wouldn't spend a day with the wretch for anything, and decided that a day with Selskia was better than with Selene. Maybe the girl would enjoy it...  
  
"Of course I would!"  
  
The girl smiled gently, almost gratefully, to Klein, getting one of the tickets out of Klein's hand. The newer tickets these days were holograms, and she pressed a few points to activate the small miniature (and cheap) hologram. Squinting, she looked over the thing, trying to make out minute words as they fuzzed up or flashed from the terrible quality. Once she understood the words, she looked back up quickly.  
  
"It begins in only 30 minutes!"  
  
Klein let out a small sigh of relief, and steeled himself for the worst. /I shouldn't have done that I shouldn't have done that I shouldn't have done that I shouldn't have.../ Too late to change anything now. Might as well make this something nice.  
  
"Well, we should go then, shouldn't we?"  
  
~~~~~  
  
Klein walked into the large stadium behind Selskia, who was marveling at the changes since she was last in the same room. They were actually a little early for the match, Klein thought as he sat down in his seat next to Selskia's. Kelron had really outdone himself, getting the best seats in the place for him.  
  
This match was in the space arena, one of those that most people enjoyed because of the added effect of weightlessness. The stats for the two ravens battling were showing on a hologram in front of the stands, so everyone could see. The match was for the B-5 ranking, so it was going to be a fair decent match, at least. Porth with his AC, Icestorm, were challenging Elwood with his AC, Oblivion.  
  
Selskia was too busy looking around at all the improvements in the arena to notice Klein too much. The lights were different in here, as well as the shield generators and the gravity controls. She could reach up and start to feel like drifting while remaining firmly planted on the ground. At the moment, the lights were dimmed in the actual arena while the lights were bright in the stands. She sat back in her seat, waiting for the match to begin.  
  
Oblivion floated out of the gate first, the pitch black midweight equipped with grenade rifle and dual vertical missile launcher, weapons of choice for the man. Elwood was known for sneaking around with his AC, tricking his opponent and finishing them off quickly when they were least expecting it. Icestorm came in right after, the middleweight AC a range of bold blues and whites, hence its name. With a machine gun and a howitzer being his main weapons, Porth typically fired light barrages constantly, slipping in sudden shots on occasion. Much like a storm.  
  
An announcer stated the rules and terms for the match in a monotone voice, no one really listening. Most already knew it, and the rest didn't care, but it was law, so they continued to talk while the man recited the words yet again, as he always did before every match. Slowly, everyone stopped talking and turned their eyes to the actual arena and to the two ACs floating there. Then the announcer went through the typical formalities before raising a hand for silence.  
  
"Begin!"  
  
End Chapter 7, Part I  
  
Note from Selskia  
  
This shall be my terrible, horrible try at a battle!  
I would also like to thank Squirrel for helping me write the battle (actually, he wrote the entire battle and I just tweaked it). Thank ye once  
again!  
  
At the announcer's words, Icestorm immediately boosted up, while Oblivion started gliding along to meet his opponent. Once in range, Oblivion fired a volley of vertical missiles, but, of course, Icestorm dodged them easily. The dark black AC blended into the background of space perfectly, just firing volley after volley at his enemy, until all his ammo was gone. With the useless hunk of metal on his back, he jettisoned the missile launchers, glad to have lost the extra weight. Not that it mattered, in the 0 grav of simulated space.  
  
Icestorm took the offensive suddenly, coming straight for Oblivion. In return, Oblivion brought out his grenade launchers, firing one after the other, at perfect intervals to force his attacker to dodge. Soon tiring of the pointless dodging, Icestorm triggered his overboost suddenly and lunged at Oblivion, dodging another grenade round, as he opened fire with his machine gun. After taking moderate damage, Oblivion finally managed to hit Icestorm at last, the grenade tearing off the AC's left arm, smashing the hunk of metal against the force field that protected the spectators. He carefully took aim to make the final shot as the icy blue AC was stunned, but right before his round hit, the armless AC managed to boost out of the way. Despite his efforts, Icestorm was just a little off, and his right leg was torn apart just below the knee. He could still battle though, thankful that this was in the space arena instead of the normal ones, where he would be near crippled.  
  
The AC circled Oblivion, firing his MG-1000 the entire time. A few rounds of machine gun fire managed to hit the ammo storage for the left grenade rifle, causing it to implode, knocking the black AC back. While the AC was struggling to regain control, Icestorm used the time to position himself behind Oblivion, placing his machine gun at the base of the AC's 'skull', firing until he only hit dirt. Without cameras, Oblivion was forced to surrender, the lights in the arena focusing on the ice AC.  
  
"The winner--Porth and Icestorm! Porth is now upgraded to raven rank B-5, and Elwood has been moved down to rank B-6. Thank you all for coming, the next match is in 45 minutes, for the D-7 ranking..."  
  
Klein looked back at Selskia, who was judging the match by now, ignoring the announcer. The one thing he hated about arena matches was that the announcer kept on babbling about pointless things. Then, Selskia spoke, still looking at the ACs.  
  
"Porth was lucky it was an anti-grav arena, otherwise, I doubt he could have won. And Elwood, nearly overweight with those grenade launchers, but in anti-grav, it really isn't a problem..."  
  
Suddenly, there was a high-pitched cry of surprise from a young boy nearby. Both turned to see what was going on, and found that a young boy was slowly floating towards the center of the arena, trapped in the anti- grav, his struggling futile. Another man, obviously the boy's father, jumped up to grab the boy, but was caught in the spherical dome of anti- grav at once. Klein snorted, shaking his head.  
  
"Some people...Are just idiots...Let's go, it's pointless to stay."  
  
Before following Klein out of the stadium, Selskia looked back to the young boy, a slightly worried look on her face. /Well...It had to have happened before...They'll get him out.../ By the time she looked back, the oblivious Klein was already far ahead, near the doors that lead to the streets in the middle of a mass of people.  
  
"Klein!!!!! Wait up!"  
  
~~~~~  
  
The streets of the city were built to hold large amounts of people, walkways under domed structures to protect against the rain, and the occasional spurt of acid rain. From the exit of the arena, the shuttle station to the Nest was only a short walk away. But then, the huge crowds made the travel time up several notches. After about 15 minutes of standing and waiting for any slight thinning of the crowd, Selskia finally sat down on a bench in the little niche they had gotten themselves in.  
  
"Why don't we just go ahead and go into the crowd? I'm tired of just standing around, and watching people pass..."  
  
Klein sighed and continued to watch the crowd from his position. "It's not exactly a good idea. It's easier to get lost in a crowd, or for someone to kidnap you."  
  
"Well, isn't there an equally likely chance in a deserted area!?"  
  
"At least, in a deserted area, it would be noticed by everyone in it."  
  
A familiar face popped up in the crowd as Selskia started to look up at Klein to answer. A woman, a familiar woman, with two large bodyguards next to her...Selene!  
  
"Hey, Klein, isn't that Sele-"  
  
Selskia's words were cut off by a sudden discharge of a firearm, one of the bodyguards with his gun out, aimed for Selskia, who covered her face with one arm, trying to duck out of the way. Klein leapt back and in front of Selskia, shielding the girl, and taking a bullet in the chest while getting his own gun out and firing twice, getting that one bodyguard's knees. All of this, in one swift, fluid motion.  
  
"You idiot! Don't take shots for that girl! You're supposed to be MINE!!!!!"  
  
End Chapter 7, Part II  
  
Klein was knocked back from the impact of the shot, but still standing in front of Selskia, blood starting to blossom on his shirt from the wound. All of them could hear police sirens starting to sound, a call from one of the many spectators. A few from the crowd tried to grab Selene and her cohorts, but they slipped from their grasp as the two blended into the crowd, leaving the fallen guard in the street.  
  
As soon as the police arrived, the crowd started to thin, many trying to get as far away from the scene as possible. With one look, the police went to call an ambulance as well.  
  
"Klein..." Selskia reached out a hand worriedly, but the man batted the hand away.  
  
"I'm fine! Everyone, I AM PERFECTLY FINE! Just...Could someone get the bullet out? It's kinda annoying..." With an almost petulant look at everyone and a sigh, the man sat down and unbuttoned his shirt to get a better view of his injuries.  
  
"But...Doesn't that hurt...? I can at least numb the pain, or maybe even heal it..." Again, the girl reached out a hand only to get it swatted away.  
  
"It doesn't even hurt. Just a minor little scrape. It only skimmed my heart, I'll live." By now, the man was rather annoyed at everyone worrying over him. Which only made his temper worse when the ambulance arrived.  
  
"LET ME GO YOU IDIOTS! I am FINE! Just get the bullet out and go away, damn it!" Even with Klein's obvious aggravation, the two doctors didn't seem to notice.  
  
"Don't worry sir, it will all be ok when we get back to the hospital to fix you right up..."  
  
Klein knew better than to retaliate against the two men for their utter idiocy, but he couldn't help cursing them as they brought him into the ambulance. Selskia, in the background the entire time, hopped in right before they closed the door and headed off to the nearest hospital.  
  
From where he was, Klein motioned the girl closer, and looked over to an open drawer where a pair of pliers were, looking back down at his wound, which was just now starting to sting a little. Taking the hint, Selskia crawled over to the other side of the small compartment, between the two arguing doctors, oblivious to her position.  
  
"We should apply anesthetic and remove the bullet!"  
  
"No! Any sudden jarring would cause the wound to bleed!"  
  
"Then we should clamp the veins and arteries then remove the bullet, idiot!"  
  
"But then..."  
  
Quietly, the girl grabbed the metal pliers and returned to Klein, probing hesitantly with the piece of metal, searching for the little blob of metal that should be in there. Then, as the two doctor's arguments were starting to become yelling contests, the girl found the bullet, and with a triumphant smile, yanked it out. Klein only winced at the slight pain, but immediately started to undo his bindings while Selskia returned the tools and the doctors argued.  
  
"No! THAT'S IDIOTIC! We should-"  
  
"Hey! The patient is getting up!"  
  
With a final tug, the arm restraints were off, and Klein was up with Selskia right behind. Before the two idiotic doctors could do anything, Klein jumped off the stretcher and opened one of the back doors, leaping off with a slightly surprised Selskia in tow. They rolled to a stop beside the dusty road, the blaring alarm and flashing lights of the ambulance fading off into the horizon.  
  
"Well, at least they're gone...Now all we have to do is get back to the city, and then back to the Nest..." Selskia got up slowly and off Klein, checking his injury. But for some reason, there was no sign of any injury, not even a scar...Of course. Enhancements. "Well, at least you don't have to get any medical attention..." She placed one hand on his chest, where the bullet shot through. Perfectly fine as far as she could tell.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I just have quick healing, that's all..." The man got up and looked around. Then, a gleam of light against the setting sun, from the city. A car...A familiar car...Selene's car..."My god will that woman ever stop..."  
  
"Eh?" Selskia turned to where Klein was staring, and watched the black vehicle come closer and closer while she tried to distinguish who was driving. But her quiet contemplation was interrupted by Klein suddenly forcing her down below the road as a series of shots rang through the air, the single guard firing a sniper rifle through the back seat window. Once that moment of chaos passed, the girl whistled, bringing her Mini AC up out of nowhere, a camouflage shield wavering off the small mech as it floated down to its master's side. With a short whispered order, it brought up a shield around the girl as she held the AC, giving it power to deflect bullets, instead of simply slow them.  
  
Klein stood as soon as the firing stopped, knowing quite well that he was not the target--Selskia was. He got up onto the pavement as the car slowed to a stop, and Selene, dressed in black leather, hopped out of the car, the burly bodyguard in tow.  
  
"Klein, dear, why don't you just come with me? Your...friend...Doesn't get hurt and everyone's happy!"  
  
The man just kept walking forward, shielding Selskia from view. "When will you give up, Selene? When I'm gone and dead, or when you are? Then again, you won't give up on me when I've died, you'll probably rape my corpse." he spat, a look of complete annoyance on his face.  
  
Selene was in utter shock. "You...You...GUARD! GET HIM!"  
  
But before the slow and stupid bodyguard could react, Klein was already behind him, deftly disabling the man and knocking him out cold. He turned to Selene, but didn't move forward as the other girl backed away, reaching for the car door.  
  
"You...You...ARGH!" With that, she wretched the door open and got in, driving off as fast as she could. Very badly, too...She must have been pretty mad.  
  
From behind Klein, Selskia peeked out. "They're gone?" A nod from Klein, and the girl got up, Mini following just behind. She dusted herself off, and looked back up at Klein, a small smile on her face, then looked back at the Mini.  
  
"Come on...Let's get back to the Nest. Mini will take us..." With small nod, the AC transformed into a small engine within seconds, hovercraft ready to be ridden. The platform was big enough for the two to sit, and the Mini whistled for attention.  
  
"I'll walk, Selskia...You can go ahead and ride."  
  
The girl, already seated, pulled Klein down pretty much on top of her. "No, just ride with me, ok? You've been through enough, haven't you?"  
  
The man sighed and looked down at the girl. "Fine, fine..."  
  
And so they rode off, back to the city, back to their home...  
  
End Chapter 7, Part III End Chapter 7 


	8. End for now

And from here, Mystic Destiny has come to an end. Sorry to any readers, I'm working on other projects at the moment and have lost my helper in the making of this story. And I haven't updated in a long time. I might, however, go back and re-do Mystic Destiny, as I am with several other stories. Thank you for reading, and good day to everyone. 


End file.
